Unit 7 - meditation and practicing what you preach

Hello,

Ok so I managed to jump the gun and go ahead to unit 8 before realizing that we were only on unit 7. :) So lets back up, and discuss meditation first.

I did not particularly care for the meditation exercise this week. Imagining a wise person with beams of light that are supposed to reflect back to ourselves and change our thought processes, speech, and heart was not easy to do. I have many people that I look up to and respect but at the same time I do not want to become these people, like the exercise suggests we try to do. Practicing the characteristics that I admire in the individual is something that I think is a little more realistic. The beam of light that enters through our forehead and radiates down into our organs was not something I could imagine and did not provoke any different feelings, as it apparently should have.
Trying out different meditation techniques is something that I can keep doing in order to foster psychological and spiritual wellness. Ones that do not have beams of light would probably work a little better for me.


The other half of the post is to discuss the phrase "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself." To me, this is another way of saying "practice what you preach." For the health and wellness professional this means to not only have the knowledge of what you teach clients but also use what you teach in your own life. This builds trust with your clientele because it shows that you are committed to what you do for a living not only with helping other people but also with helping yourself. In the this area, I do believe that we have the obligation to continue to improve our own health in all areas: psychologically, physically, and spiritually. If we do not do this then how can we be successful in teaching others to do it? It would be the same thing as a police officer being arrested for the same action that he has arrested others for. Once that happens, people would not show the same respect for the police officer because he tries to tell others its wrong but yet does it himself. It seems hypocritical. The same applies to health and wellness professionals. We should continue to develop our own health while teaching others the importance of it and setting the example. Psychological and spiritual growth are usually the most difficult to accomplish. However, continuing to practice loving-kindess toward others and trying to expand your consciousness level are ways to foster improved wellness in those areas.